


Monsters and Hunters

by attic_gremlin



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Fighting, Gen, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), LinkedUniverse, monster au, monster au!!!, monster hunting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:21:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27200356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/attic_gremlin/pseuds/attic_gremlin
Summary: They've been discovered-- Hyrule needs to get to the rendezvous, now.But there's something in his way.
Relationships: Four & Hyrule & Legend & Sky & Time & Twilight & Warriors & Wild & Wind (Linked Universe)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 78





	Monsters and Hunters

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RamenShop](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RamenShop/gifts).



> I'm so excited to finally reveal my piece for Seeking's LU Artist Appreciation Project!! This piece was written for Ramen, and is based on this piece here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CEXGH2Np21u/?igshid=1owaoox4ktpex by hylianramen on Instagram! Check it out and give it some love!
> 
> These monster au designs were just so PERFECT!! The monsters Ramen assigned to each boy fit so well, I couldn't have imagined anything better. And as always, they were all so adorable, Ramen's style is just so sweet and soft and round, I just want to squish everything she draws!! And these were no exception, especially Twilight's little face and Warrior's adorable wiggly snakes!

“Hyrule, go!” Twilight barked. “I’ll hold them off!” 

He turned to face their pursuers: A tall, one-eyed hunter, and a shorter companion wearing a blue scarf. Hyrule hesitated, but nodded, turning and bounding off into the trees. Behind him, he heard Twilight give a warning howl, and the hunters respond with their own war cries. Shots rang out, echoing through the woods.

Hyrule paid them no mind. He set off in a zigzagging pattern towards the rendezvous to shake any potential tails (aside from his own small fluffy one, of course), practically flying through the dense forest. He ducked under stray branches and jumped knarled roots, his four thin legs flickering beneath him. His cloven hooves clacked against the occasional stone as he ran for his life. 

Finally, he burst through the treeline and laid eyes on his goal: a tall thin pole topped with a black flag. It marked a buried cache of emergency supplies; if they were ever discovered by hunters, they planned to evacuate, scatter, and meet back here at sundown. He’d made it, finally-- but he wasn’t the first.

There, standing between him and safety, was a hunter armed with a crossbow. Behind him, a dingy pet carrier. Hyrule spotted an absolutely livid cotton-candy colored cat inside, which intermittently became an equally livid (and equally pink) sparrow, rabbit, or squirrel-- among other small, fuzzy animals. He also saw that the hunter was armed with more than just the crossbow: there were several knives strapped to his body, some small and light, others long and wicked. A quiver of crossbow bolts was slung across his back. His body tensed and Hyrule saw his weight shift, his long braid swinging behind him like a pendulum, as if the world were in slow motion--

When the bolt embedded itself in the tree behind him, Hyrule was almost surprised at how fast he’d moved. Shaking off his surprise, though, he charged the hunter, who dropped the empty crossbow in shock. Hyrule leapt forward, reaching out towards his opponent, who twisted, attempting to dodge-- but finally, the hunter stumbled and slammed into the ground. Hyrule leapt on top of him, digging his bony knees into the hunter’s back to keep him pinned. Now that he was down, Hyrule could see that his bootlaces were tied together. To Hyrule’s right, the air shimmered and he thought he could make out the faint glow of a ghostly lantern, still shining despite the afternoon sun. 

“Thanks, Wind,” He said to thin air, and an airy laugh rang out around him. 

At the loud insistence of the pastel Cardinal in the pet crate, Hyrule leaned over from where he knelt to let Legend out. In a flurry of feathers, Legend burst from his tiny prison and soared off over the trees. Just then, several more figures entered the clearing from opposite directions. 

It looked like the game was over-- after all, the one-eyed “hunter” from earlier (the glowing yellow eyes and giant bat wings were a bit of a giveaway to his true identity) was affectionately ruffling Twilight’s hair as they walked along. Closely following was Time’s companion in the blue scarf, still grinning despite his split lip; The tangle of snakes on Warriors’ head wriggled playfully as he gave Time a friendly ribbing. On the other side of the clearing, Four (the fourth Link on the Hunters team this round) pouted as Sky marched him towards the flag, tied up securely in Sky’s trusty whip. 

“Hah! Four’s dead again,” Wild teased from his place under Hyrule’s knees. Hyrule rolled his eyes and let him up. Four pointedly ignored him as Sky untied his binds. Wild wasn’t wrong: not only had Four been "killed" in the game, he had also been technically dead for about forty years now. He was kept animate by a combination of bionic parts, pilfered (“borrowed”) organic material, and a  _ touch  _ of shadow magic. Still, it was a bit of the pot calling the kettle black, since Wild had  _ also  _ been dead for quite a while; he’d been mummified over a hundred years ago. They’d maintained a somewhat constant argument about which one was  _ more  _ dead practically since the day they met, but both conceded ultimate victory to Wind, who didn’t even have a corporeal body anymore. You couldn’t get much deader than that.

Speaking of Wind: as the sun set further and further past the horizon, he became more and more visible. At first, he was a mere shimmer in the air, but eventually he grew more and more opaque until it was hard to make out the environment behind him. He quickly joined in on teasing the others (one of his and Warriors’ shared passions) and the group dissolved into friendly jabs and laughter. Even Legend (who had sauntered back into the clearing as if he  _ hadn’t  _ spent most of the game inside a cat carrier) eventually lost his scowl and laughed along.

Later, Time would give them their reviews. He would tell them what they did right, what they did wrong (how he knew  _ everything _ they did without being there for most of it, Hyrule would never know), and teach them how to do it all even better. Capture the flag was exhilarating and fun, but ultimately, it was preparation; training, for the day it all became real.

But tonight, under the pale light of the not-quite-full moon, it was just a game, and Hyrule’s team had won. For now, they could simply revel in their victory, and laugh. 


End file.
